RSS
Home
Mr. Robinson never said "Management"
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
This country has to do much more than toss teabags if it’s going to get rid of the economic problems that started this recession on the first place. We’ve read and heard much about how the Big 3 (2) (1) need to rethink the way they make cars. Quite frankly, I’m convinced that there are other, much more radical approaches, to killing this Economic Wind-Blowing Dragon.
Remember what Mrs. Robinson’s husband said? It wasn’t “Management.” It was “Plastics,” something tangible.
I attended my college class reunion this past weekend. I graduated from a small liberal arts college for women in Atlanta. While surrounded by some of the sharpest minds I know, three main threads of discussion about the recession went around the crowd: This needs to end, we need to create good jobs (not just those of convenience) and America needs to begin producing bona fide products and services again.
Underneath the currents of discussion, however, was a thread many people addressed: Americans will only get back to work when they get back to work. A word game? No. What this means is that far too many Americans don’t actually work at work. They get paid, but they don’t produce anything.
I would think nine or tens time before I took a position with a company that would make me the kind of manager that moves paper around and makes comments on people’s work but doesn’t really do anything tangible all day. I tell all of my young friends: “Skills. It’s skills that get the job and skills that keep the job.”
Think about your situation or one to which you are close. Does a 17-person department need a vice president, 2 managers and a pair of supervisors? I worked once in such an arrangement. The end result was that 4 people ended up with the same assignment quite often, an assignment that could have been completed with only one set of hands.
Ridiculous, right? Yes. Far-fetched? Don’t kid yourself.
America is not great because of its ability to create great job titles. It’s great because of the caliber of work our workers take to market everyday.
Related Articles:
Comments
Let’s begin with the fact that there will always be a Grady. Why? Because Atlanta needs a Grady. Let’s get even more radical and suggest …
If you want to have a real voice in government, the best way is to sign onto a campaign. For me, the best choice to maximize one’s efforts is …
